• Chairman of the International Islamic Financial Market Management Khaled Al-Hamad said that there are two major challenges faced by the Islamic banking sector after forty years after its inception, namely: creating tools for investment liquidity, and the presence of competent professionals raise the sector level

• Saudi the Gulf’s largest utility firm said on Monday its board had approved expanding the amount of its planned U.S. dollar-denominated Sukuk programme to $2.5 billion from $1.5 billion. more

• Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties plans to extend maturities of its debt 6 billion-dirham ($1.6 billion), which includes a $750 million Sukuk issue, its chief financial officer said on Monday.more

• QATAR Three Qatari banks participated in the $1.34bn (about QR4.88bn) Sukuk auction successfully conducted by the Kuala Lumpur-based International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM). The Doha-based banks which participated at the IILM’s Sukuk auction include Qatar National Bank (QNB), Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and Barwa Bank. more

• Turkey  Qatar’s leading investment group, has provided a five-year $30m Murabaha mezzanine finance facility for Crescent Capital to fund its acquisition of a 100 percent stake in Akocak HPP, an operational 81 MW hydro-electric power plant in Turkey. more

• Kenya is reviewing all laws and regulations governing its nascent Islamic Finance industry to aid the issuance of a debut Islamic law-compliant bond known as a Sukuk, its attorney general said on Wednesday.

• Australia sees nascent growth in Islamic finance despite tax concerns National Australia Bank Ltd , one of the most active banks in the sector, this month helped fund a A$160 million ($114 million) Brisbane property purchase, its third Islamic financing transaction since August. more

(EBCTV)